Layout Help

[TJ111]

I'm pretty much artistically impaired (I prefer to work more on back-end logic then presentation). However I am working on a website currently, and I thought it was pretty ugly. So I'm trying to make it look better, but am not entirely sure its an improvement (only spent ~20 min on it, but still am unsure). I was hoping someone more artistic could give me some feedback. (site isn't live, just screen grabs atm) (all graphics are placeholders).

The original layout:
http://i19.tinypic.com/8fl8it0.jpg

The new layout:
http://i5.tinypic.com/879dogg.jpg

All feedback is much appreciated.


Edit: More like color scheme then layout, but you get the idea.

[dtm32236]

i kinda prefer the old color scheme better... there's more whitespace and it's really clean. The new layout is really.... red....

unless, of course, that's what you're going for - many companies brand themselves with color (when you see red and white, a lot of people automatically think "target")...

so, if this is what you're going for, i think that the orange on the red works somehow.

[WebJoel]

I somewhat like the second one better, -and the color is a bit intense. Maybe a shade or two lighter.. Both designs are nice though..

[TJ111]

Thanks for the feedback. Those are just really early design idea's, just wanted some feedback on which would be the better path to follow. Been out sick the past few days, but for now it looks like I'm sticking with a variation of the first one. The color on the second one was a little intense, and it seems trying to tone to down makes it look more tacky. I wasn't a fan of the gray in the first one though either. Let me know what you think about the new color scheme (compared to the first).

http://i30.tinypic.com/r06m50.jpg

[dtm32236]

i don't think i like the green background much... it seems to come from nowhere...

it's common to take a sample of an existing color (like the maroon-ish color), and lightening it up a bunch, and using that as the background

right now, i prefer the gray over the green backgrounds.

PS - i like the logo a lot better in the new design... in my opinion, the "web 2.0" design (as people incorrectly refer to it) - the reflected/mirrored logo is getting really played out.

[Highway]

Just a rough one, but what about something like this.

Yeah, it's a graphic background, so not sure it would cause a problem re-sizing to differing browsers and screens etc.

I reckon it suits having a sunset/sky effect being 'summit' - don't like the burgundy color of the logo but it seems to work ok.

There is a thick white keyline border around the whole thing which cleans it up and brings it out a bit.

I also included a bit of a sky effect in the head banner.

A more modern and appropriate overall look IMO ;)

[TJ111]

Thanks for all the replies. I agree that the "reflected" logo is really overdone, thats why I took it out. As for the maroon, not a big fan either, but the color of the old logo is even worse, I added an orange tint to it to make it less maroon. The green color is one of those "harmonious" colors picked from a color picker, just wasn't a fan of the gray background.

I really like that sunset gradient effect, it's really clean/natural looking. I'm gonna see what I can come up with on that. As far as resizing, I can just have the background color equivalent to either the top or bottom of the gradient color. Do you think that thick white border is better then the light gray one I'm using now?

Here's a snapshot of what I got now (alot of it is placeholder stuff). Note the old logo in the corner of that picture.

[dtm32236]

i think it looks really nice...

still not sure about the greenish background - but i think i like it better than the sunset thing...

the sunset background is nice - but it's too bold and takes attention away from the site/content, maybe it could be toned down a little (whenever i notice something is too distracting, i just bring it into photoshop and add some transparency to it to lighten it up - or you could desaturate the colors)

i personally like a solid background though - again, the green is nice, but it comes from nowhere - it's a little too random - the background color looks nicer when it's inspired by another color used on the site.

[TJ111]

Ugh, original post I typed out got deleted.

I agree the green isn't a good color, like I said it was just an attempt to replace the gray. Alot of the companies old brochures and other material are all very boring and dull, we need a little flavor in our image. A dark "harmonious" blue looks really good against the site. Adding in a small sunset gradient at the bottom looks good as well and doesnt really detract from the content. See the attached picture (note that hen viewed full size, the gradient is barely noticable until you scroll down the page).

Like I said, I'm artistically impaired (but a perfectionist), so please be overly critical about everything, I need all the feedback I can get.

Edit: forgot attachment

[TJ111]

Here's the attachment I meant to upload :rolleyes:

[dtm32236]

it looks really nice - and i like the image in header.

maybe for the gradient, you can pull one of the dark blues and the yellows from that image and lighten them up a little - i still think that it's a little too bright and distracting (but it's definitely not bad as is - it looks nice).

[TJ111]

Yeah I agree it is still to distracting. Here's a toned down version. Now I think that the bright orange in the product image is too bright. What do you think? Also, do you think the gradient is to "brown" looking at the bottom? Thanks again for all the help.

[dtm32236]

i like the gradient a lot better - it looks nice with the yellow/orange lower like that...

i agree about the product image being too bright - that can be toned down a little...

and i think that the blue in the gradient could be a little darker - like the dark blues in the top image.

after that, you're pretty set - it's a good looking site.

[TJ111]

Ok thanks for all the input. Here's what I'm using now. Let me know what you think.

[dtm32236]

very nice

[Highway]

Yep, looks great! - All the colors work well together and the overall look is modern and professional. - good job!
ps. does the content work:D

[Highway]

Oh yeah, BTW good idea using that gradient! ;)

[NCJCJ]

This looks nice, just make sure the gradation background looks ok in a variety of monitors. I had problems with one of my sites.

However, is this about airplanes or printers. For someone who doesn't know your site, the purpose is confusing.

[TJ111]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll have to check it out on multiple moniters and see how it looks. The page I'm using as an example is a "Product" page, not a home page, the home page does more of the company description, etc. I just used the product page because the interface is basically finsihed and I got a little graphic on it for comparison purposes.

[WebJoel]

That is really an exciting background. Usually, a background color isn't supposed to add (or subtract!) from the site's content. But this background exquisitlycompliments the content and colors and does seem to provide some focus.

I like the 'toned-down' background gradient best.

Well done!